Last night I like many people I know watched the Lifetime movie The Clark Sisters. Oh my word....I think I will be tore up from this one for a while. I have been a fan of the Clark Sisters for YEARS. I can remember going to church growing up and the church I belonged to (Lord's Missionary Baptist Church) had the BEST CHOIR in ALL of Dallas. I would put them up against any choir in the nation and those Garrett Sisters could SING! They would often sing Clark Sisters songs during the offering and I still remember the first time I heard You Brought the Sunshine.

So last night every song I heard and the costumes and hairstyles took me back to my childhood and teen years. I still listen to the Clark Sisters and I love their voices and everything about them. I had previously seen the Unsung episode about them on TV One.

But last night. Seeing the relationship between the girls and their mother...That touched me. Motherhood is hard. Mothering strong daughters is hard. I felt every scene and moment from each one's perspective. There are books on parenting but nothing truly prepares you for when your kids that you've centered your life around start pulling away as they try to set their own paths. It hurts. All of a sudden the guidance, expectations, and love wrapped in wisdom is received differently. Sometimes with resentment. The children that once didn't want you out of their sight now prefer to be out of yours.

All I can say is well done Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. She was a ground breaker in the Church of God in Christ. Instilled excellence in her girls. She had some awesome lines in the movie. Her face beaming in the hospital scene of her 3 girls present and her pride in their voices and accomplishments touched me.  When she told them they were better than her - eww chile. Took me O-W-T!

We don't get do-overs. We do the best we can at all costs. Those girls adored and cherished their mom the way they knew how and that's what she gave them as well. So much was sacrificed and generations will continue to blessed because of their impact in the world of gospel.

As for the motherhood navigation....*Sigh*

The recent self-scrutiny of the Lemons’ household finances have led me to return to blogging. Basically why would I keep paying for a web hosting service if I wasn’t going to use it. Plus, I like writing frivolously. It’s therapeutic.

So shall we do a quick update of life events?

• ​My daughter became my Soror on December 1, 2019 on her college campus.
• I was accepted into and began Vanderbilt’s Peabody College’s Ed.D. program.
• Lil Wade earned all As both grading cycles his first semester as a 7th grade student athlete taking all available honors classes.
• Kendall ended fall semester of his 3rd year well. Same girlfriend since freshmen year. He just secured a new research position that he’s excited about.
• Waldrick is pressing on as the steady one of the bunch and is launching new ventures that give him joy. When he’s happy, I’m happy.
  
• We celebrated 22 years of marriage in December.
• My sorority turned 112 years old.💞💚

And speaking of sorority. Today I attending our chapter’s luncheon honoring our 112 year old sisterhood. I was inspired by the dignitaries and women who are leaders in their fields. Everything was precious!

The look in the pic on the left above is me post-luncheon taking advantage of spectacular natural lighting in the parking garage of the luncheon. The pic on the right is me in my natural habit: at home, sweatshirt hoodie, spectacles, leggings, with makeup leftover from earlier. Yep. Same day. This is my “homework” look as I delve into preparation into my classes this week. This week will be week 4. I have always been told I was smart. This is way, way different. I am challenged each class meeting and independent study. And I like it.

Well that sums up the big points. Guess I better get back to my Asyncs.

I think I’ve got a case of the Holiday blues. I count myself blessed. It’s just that....Thanksgiving and pretty much every other holiday ain’t what it used to be. Once my parents divorced and we moved to Texas from Louisiana when I was seven, a lot changed. Much for the better. I was literally surrounded by all the characters in my family every day. We lived with my grandmother for 2 years while my mom got her bearings so to speak. That’s a whole other blog entry.

But in my new normal I never felt alone. I approached holidays like a magical countdown because I knew everyone would be at my granny’s house. Later we would alternate between my granny’s house, our house and my Aunt Gladys’ house. Spades. Dominoes. Arguments. Roasting. Lots and lots of food. An abundance of memories. Fast forward to now. Once my Aunt Gladys passed in 2009 and then my grandmother 2 years later it changed. People started branching off - doing their own separate things. It’s just not the same. I miss what once was - overcrowded fun. And so do my twins who were around to witness it.

Last year, I put out a plea and invited the family over for Christmas Eve and they showed up. My heart overflowed. I plan to do it again this year. We’ve already begun the cleaning process (eww Chile it takes a lot to get the house company-ready)! So while I pray they show up in huge numbers again this year - I’m still feeling some kind of way as we are en route to my mom’s. It will be my little family minus Miss Mookie , My sister and my niece, my niece’s dad and my mom. We will have a good time, but we’ll all have that glazed over look of melancholy as we privately reminisce how these gatherings used to be.

Nevertheless, I choose to be happy today despite some key people and elements missing.

Happy Thanksgiving 2019 everyone!

Working to develop undeveloped minds is an occupation that definitely swings the pendulum from physically and emotionally draining to moments of hope, joy and laughter.

Red Ribbon Week 2019 is officially a wrap for my campus and thanks to a very STRONG urging from my principal last year I participated daily. I participated in every way but modified PJ day with a “comfy” dress representing my sorority. I figured it was an acceptable compromise since I was presenting campus PD to the staff that Friday.

While Red Ribbon Week is a time to bring awareness to the dangers of drug use, it is also a time associated with wild and wacky themed dress up days. I’ve seen some of everything and usually I just do like 1 day. But my previous principal and current mentor urged me to participate fully because it’s an opportunity for me to show a lighter, carefree side while fully engaging in maintaining and establishing campus culture. Students love it and so do staff. I must admit it was fun and I always LOVE the creative way the students represent! And oh my word....the costumes for Halloween on “scare away drugs day” were GREAT and there were no issues whatsoever!

So in my collage above don’t view it as simply my documentation of wear red day, nerd day, twin day (I forgot to take a picture but me and my AP counterpart and the guidance counselors), costume day for Halloween and pajama day, please see it as a campus administrator connecting with the students and staff she serves. Through the demands and that pesky pendulum I mentioned above, my school day persona doesn’t always present the best snapshot of the giddiness in my soul. But through campus wide events like Red Ribbon week, it allows a tiny peep into another side of my love for people.

I am checking Wade’s math review for his test tomorrow. It is a “DCA” which is a district created assessment. Can I just say I love solving equations? No sarcasm - I mean it. I really do like solving equations. So...happy equation solving and Happy October to everyone.

Oh good Lord surely the beginning of school is definitely here. There is no “tired” like the beginning of school educator-tired. This is day 6 of the 2019-2020 school year and countless hours have been spent getting our campus and staff ready to usher in the cherubs. Not to mention the schedule pick ups, registrations, and Meet the Teacher Night that has already happened. So while I helicopter parent outside of my youngest son’s football practice at his school (which he is COMPLETELY stoked about by the way) let me do a quick update:

• ​I got eyelash extensions about 2 weeks ago and between the Texas heat, allergies, and starting school antics most of them are already gone.
• My baby is officially pee wee football retired and playing for his junior high school as a 7th grader. Living in a relatively small town this is super huge. It’s what the littles aspire to do!
• The twins have officially returned to their college dwellings and will begin classes next week.
• I’m in a wedding this weekend and didn’t even try to lose an ounce. That bridesmaid dress is going to get whatever body I present to it Sunday!
• I got my “fall 2019” hairstyle a bit earlier than usual because of said wedding.
• My campus received an accountability rating of an “A” and 7 distinctions- the most possible!!!! What makes it even more special is our campus is a true Title I campus with all the blessings and opportunities for growth that come with it. I will not ever stand for anyone lowering expectations or speaking against the brilliance of these babies! They have shown that anything is possible. I’m so ridiculously proud of the teachers and students!
• One of my children lied to me and broke my heart. So I’m walking around with a broken mommy heart. This too shall pass. But in the meantime, it hurts like crazy. #Prayers

It is HOT. Texas hot. August in Texas hot. My favorite morning weather personality must have anticipated my melodramatics (along with others) because he assured the viewers this morning that we have had fewer 100+ temperature days this summer than last summer or other years. But logic is out the window.

Thus while I planned to leisurely walk around the track during Wade’s workout with a friend, all I can do I take pictures of him stretching. I can not leave this shaded area. I refuse. My life depends on it. 🥵

I try to send daily inspirational messages to my twins while they’re chasing their dreams. Sometimes it’s a general reminder of God’s sovereignty and grace, my prayers for them, a funny joke or something specific based on their needs. Today is my daughter’s final exam for her chemistry class she took this summer. This is what I sent her. So chemistry exam and assigned professor: please be nice to my baby. And God if they are not nice to your baby, intercede on her behalf. Signed, Me

Youth sports gets such a bad rap. Sometimes it’s well deserved. And yes - sometimes it’s a bit much: costs, time, the ugly side of competition, people who have influence over children yet aren’t truly equipped to handle that responsibility, obnoxious parents, entitled pee wee athletes, etc. What I wish received more attention was the bond that’s made over time between families who are tied together through youth sports.

My children have been blessed with unbelievable growth opportunities by their participation in youth sports. They have learned to deal with being celebrated and feeling cast aside, how to handle crushing disappointments, opportunities to develop leadership skills, work with a team, settle differences, and develop authentic friendships.

Me? I made lifelong friendships. Through days and hours at ballparks, out of town tournaments, volleyball courts, and football fields I was in the trenches of not just youth sports but the highs and lows of raising kids in a complicated time. We have celebrated, laughed and wiped each other’s tears through our kids’ sports ebbs and flows as well as life outside of a referee’s whistle: birthdays, sleepovers, 6th grade summer reading projects (we were waaayyy too hands on with that one 😂), school dances, schedule pickups, breakups, proms, awards days at school, graduations, dorm room shopping, freshman year care packages, etc. Our bond extended way past our kids playing on the same teams. It truly takes a village not only to rear kids but to also have people you can depend on and trust to listen, give you advice, and just provide a safe space for you to be your authentically, flawed self.

In the picture above, that is my daughter and her friends with their moms outside of a movie theater just before we were sending our babies away to college. It was the summer after their senior year of high school. I first came into contact with some of these ladies when we moved to Waxahachie in 2008 and they made our transition such an easy one. They have blessed me so.

The picture below was taken this past weekend. It’s me and some of my favorite #Dawglife ❤️🖤 football moms. It was July in Texas so needless to say it was scorching hot and none of us cared. My Wade isn’t playing pee wee football this year. He will only play for his school. He wasn’t even playing this weekend. But he wanted to go support his boys. Me? I wanted to hangout with my mom friends. It was just like old times. As I said earlier, the relationships go way beyond the sport.

Oh. If you’re curious about what movie we saw with our girls, you shouldn’t be the least surprised to know it was Bad Moms. 🥰